


A helping hand

by darumasama



Series: AUctober [17]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: !ghost Octavian, !ghost Will, Bound Souls, Ghosts, Happy Ending, Implied Kidnapping, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Past Torture, Tortured Souls, Trapped Souls, Witches, Wizards, helping the dead move on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:14:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27063232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darumasama/pseuds/darumasama
Summary: AUctoberOctober 17th - Haunted HouseNico goes with his sister to a haunted house to release the souls trapped there.
Relationships: Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: AUctober [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949503
Comments: 28
Kudos: 68
Collections: Solangelo Auctober 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo, I was going to do something where they go to a haunted house and Will just clings to Nico the entire time....but idk. I had problems writing it and then this kind of just popped up. How it went from cute and fluffy to more horror, I have no idea. x.x
> 
> I hope you enjoy.

October 17th - Haunted House

Nico let out a frustrated sigh as he stepped into another haunted house. He knew he shouldn’t be annoyed at the amount of haunted houses that he has been in, it was his job after all, but still. Why did ghosts always seem to pick the same kind of places to haunt. Sure he had the occasional house that people were still living in, but most of the time that wasn’ the case. Most ghosts preferred to haunt places that didn’t have living humans anymore, something about making them angry with the life they had lost which never turned out good.

“You ready, Nico?” Hazel asked with a bright smile.

“Ready for what, Hazel?” Nico asked with the roll of his eyes. “To send another ghost to the afterlife? We do this all the time.”

Her golden eyes glimmered in amusement, a knowing smirk on her lips. “I have a feeling this time is going to be a bit different.”

Nico rolled his eyes again, “Have you been doing your readings again on me?”

“Maybe,” Hazel smiled with a shrug as she skipped further into the house. He just sighed as he followed her deeper into the house, hands in pockets of his oversized jacket. The house was probably nice at one point in time, now the considered creepy after years of neglect. The once vibrant shades of the walls and furniture now drained of its color to a monochromatic grey. Spiders and animals claimed this home as their own, no longer suited for the likes of humans. Yep, same typical setting for most haunted houses.

He pulled the paper out of his pocket so he could read about the history of this house once again. Apparently, it had belonged to serial killer back in the day. Some of his victims bodies were discovered, others, still never found. A solid point to think this house was haunted. Violent deaths tended to not let the soul leave as they relive the horror over and over again. Sometimes the ghost becomes violent and angry over what happened, other times, sad and trapped.

The temperature in the room dropped drastically, enough for Nico to see his own breath. Eyes scanned the room, hairs on his body sticking up. He didn’t need to look at his sister to know that she sensed it too. Danger. This ghost was going to be a violent one. As if on cue, the remains of a lamp was thrown across the room and shattered against the wall.

‘Octavian, stop’ a faint voice whispered followed by an angry scream. The scream was so loud compared to the whisper that both he and Hazel had to cover their ears. To a normal person, they probably wouldn’t hear anything, but they were sensitive to the sounds of ghosts. As the scream continued more items around what used to be the living room started to float into the air and fly across the room. The odd thing was, the various items looked like they were all meant to hit them, but would change course last second.

“Hazel!” Nico screamed. “Now would be a great time to calm this anger!”

Nico made his way closer to his sister as he tried to get the ghost to manifest itself making it easier to calm it. Only, there wasn’t just one ghost. There were multiple. Two were in the room they were currently in, the rest were all outside as if waiting for something. He closed his eyes and focused on the two that were currently in the room since they were the ones that posed the most threat. He could feel one of the ghosts not fighting him and even helping him drag the other to manifest themselves. The crash of all the items falling to the floor made him open his eyes to the two ghosts in front of them. One ghost was sobbing into the other ghost’s chest. The one sobbing looked to be a teenager while the other one looked to be maybe in his mid twenties.

The ghost that wasn’t crying looked at them with a sad smile, “I am sorry about Octavian. He can’t exactly control his emotions. My name is Will. I guess you are here to break them free of their prison?”

Nico frowned at Will, “You said them. Don’t you mean us?”

Will looked down sadly, “I know I can’t leave this place. The man that brought me here made sure of that. All I could do was protect those that came after me as best as I could.”

“He bound your soul,” Hazel said. “In order to do that he had to bind it something. We can destroy it then you would be free too.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Will said softly as he smiled down at the other ghost in his arms. “Just free them. They have suffered enough.” He whispered something to Octavian, then he disappeared. “Follow me,” he said as he walked to the kitchen then outside into the woods.

Nico followed with his sister close by. There was something odd about this ghost that he had never sensed before. It didn’t seem threatening, just different. Still, he wasn’t about to let anything happen to Hazel just in case he misjudged the ghost. They walked for quite some time before they came upon a small grove of beautiful Cedar trees. Nico could sense the remains hidden and protected under their roots, put there by not a living human, but a spirit.

He looked to Will, “You did this to protect them?” Will nodded. “You knew that while the police wouldn’t be able to find the bodies that we would come eventually to set them free.” It wasn’t a question.

Will rested one of his ghostly hands against a tree. “I didn’t want them to share my fate. I couldn’t save them when they were alive, but I could protect them after. It was why I let that man control me and teach me things so I could one day use it against him. I knew it was only a matter of time before he killed another.”

“We can help you too,” Hazel promised, her hand resting next to Will’s on the tree.

Will shook his head, “You can’t.” He turned around as about twenty or so ghosts appeared, boys and girls ranging from ages 10-18. All of them surrounded Will and hugged him.

Will smiled lovingly at them, “It is time for you to be free of this pain.”

“Are you coming with?” a little girl asked.

“No,” Will answered with a soft smile. “But you will all have each other.”

“Thank you, Will.” the ghost that Nico recognized as Octavian said. “I’m sorry we could never help you.”

Will smiled, “You did help me. I just wish I could have done more.” He turned to Nico and Hazel. “Set them free please.”

Nico nodded as he stepped forward, offering his hand to a little girl. “Don’t be afraid.” The girl looked to Will who nodded before she turned her attention back to Nico and took his hand. Nico smiled as he whispered the words of passing, gently guiding the girl’s spirit to the land of the dead where she could be in peace. It took him and Hazel a while to get through all the ghosts, but eventually they did and the only one remaining was Will.

“Your turn, Will.” Nico said as he stood up and offered his hand.

Will gave him a sad, broken look. “I can’t and you know that, but I thank you for saving them and letting them finally find peace.”

“We can find a way, Will.” Nico said stubbornly because Will deserved peace as well. He had seen everything that Will had done for the spirits that they had helped pass on. It took a lot of strength to do what Will did to protect them. It could have cost him his very soul to the point that it was almost a miracle that Will’s soul was still intact. Not many could have saved so many without becoming a ghoul.

“Just come visit sometimes?” Will asked, with a broken smile before he turned away, accepting his fate of being alone and bound to this awful place forever.

Nico frowned. He was not going to have any of that. It was his job to make sure that the souls still bound to this earth found peace. He had helped so many and he wasn’t about to stop now. If any ghost deserved to find peace it was Will. Will didn’t deserve to be stuck in the place of his torment alone and forever. There had to be a way to save him.

“Will wait!” Nico shouted as he ran after the ghost. Before he could think of the consequences of his actions, he reached out his hand and took Will’s in his own. Terrible images flashed through his head. All of Will’s pain when he was being held captive. The constant torture of the man trying to rip his soul out of his body, but failing. Over and over again until he finally succeeded. The pain of Will’s soul being bound to a dark magic stone, never to be released from its prison. The pain each time Will saved others that came after him, protecting them from his fate. Even after the man was gone and dead, still protecting them.

“No!” Will shouted as he pulled his hand away, tears streaming down his freckled ghostly cheeks. “Please, stop.” He collapsed onto his knees, arms wrapped protectively around him and sobbed, “Please, make it stop.”

“Will,” Nico whispered as he reached out to try to comfort the ghost, but stopped knowing that those terrible imagines would only return if they touched. “Show us how to get to the basement. Let us try to help.”

Will shook his head, “There is nothing you can do.” His whole ghostly form flickering in and out of existence, probably too much to maintain in his distressed emotional state.

“I am not going to leave you here to suffer alone, Will.” Nico said stubbornly. “I will live here if I have to. You don’t deserve to suffer like this.”

Will looked up at him with watery eyes, “You would stay?”

“I will,” Nico answered without hesitation. “And we will find a way to help you. I promise.”

Will looked up at him with so much hope in his eyes. Nico wondered how long it had been since Will had hoped for being saved instead of letting himself give in to the terrible fate that had been thrust upon him.

Hazel came to stand by him, a smile on her face. “Don’t worry, Will. I know that we will be able to save you.”

“Thank you,” Will whispered, looking down at the grass. “Thank you for not leaving me alone.” He stood up and started to walk back towards old house. “I’ll show you the basement.”

Nico looked to his sister, who nodded as they followed behind. Will lead them around to what looked like a normal tree growing right next to the back of the house. Nico noticed that Will’s form flicked a bit, hesitant to return to the main source of his torture. Before he could do or say anything, Will disappeared into the tree. The tree groaned loudly as its bark split to reveal a narrow passage downward. Will reappeared next to the entrance, looking pale even for a ghost.

“You can stay up here if you want,” Nico suggested, peering down the dark stairs. Even with all the ghosts but Will free, he could still feel the pain radiating from it. They were about to go into a place of great evil, that much he could sense.

Will shook his head, “I... I need to disarm the traps. Just... just give me a moment.” Once again, Will’s form flickered almost like a shiver. Nico could understand Will’s fear of returning to the place he suffered and died. From what Nico could tell from the visions, Will had been held captive for a long time before the man discovered the correct way to bind his soul. It would also explain why he looked older than the rest of the ghosts.

“I got this, Will.” Hazel said with a confident smile. She stepped up to the entrance, muttering a soft spell under her breath. Snaps and pops could be heard echoing from down below. Her golden eyes turned to Will, “I think I got all of them.”

Will looked bewildered as to what just happened, then disappeared for brief moment only to reappear once again. “Yes, they are gone.”

Nico nodded, giving his sister a grateful look. “You stay here then." he said to Will. “We’ll see what we can learn.”

Hazel snorted, “You mean what I can learn. You have never been good at the more magical sides of this job.”

“And you have never been good at summoning ghosts so I say we call it even.” Nico snapped back with a scowl.

“Please be careful,” Will warned. “I am sure that he had other traps in place that even I didn’t know about.”

Nico nodded as he took the first step downward, his sister taking his hand, following him. The stairs were dark and narrow, but it didn’t take long for them to reach the bottom. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, a shiver made its way through him. Dark magic radiated off of every surface in this place. It was so full of pain and misery that it felt like he was the one being hurt even though no one was there.

“This is an awful place,” Hazel muttered as she flicked her wrist, lighting the random candles scattered across the room. Slowly, she made her way over to a large bookcase, fingers lightly tracing along the books’ spines, lips set to a frown. “He was trying to bring someone back.” Her eyes glanced briefly to Nico, but he didn't really notice. 

Nico winced as Will’s memories flashed in his head when he looked at the cage to his left. How long had Will been held here alive before his soul was ripped out of him? How long had those others been held here until Will was able to protect them after they had taken their last breath? He shook his head as he made his way to a desk with papers scattered across it, but that wasn’t what drew him there. A single dark stone about the size of a quarter was set in a clear box at the top of the desk. A box of about a dozen or so were next to it, but the one was singled out for a reason. It was the prison that contained Will’s soul, the others were still empty.

Slowly, he reached for it and carefully set it in his palm. It felt warm in his hand, a small pulse emitted from it not unlike a heartbeat. Will appeared next to him, eyes downcast as if waiting to be hurt.

“Will, you shouldn’t be here.” Nico whispered.

“You called me,” Will answered sadly, still looking downward.

“But I...” Nico started then stopped when he looked down at the small stone in his hand. He sighed, “Let’s go back upstairs, yeah?” Will nodded. “Hazel, come on let’s take a break.”

She looked up from one of the books she was reading, looking ready to argue until she saw Will and Nico. She smiled, “I think that sounds like a good idea.” Her eyes glanced at the stone Nico still had in his hand. “You know, we can take you with us Will.”

Will looked up confused, “I don’t understand. Take me with you where?”

Hazel walked over to her brother and hovered her hand over the stone, “The spell that kept this stone here is broken. Meaning you can go wherever the stone goes.” She smiled brightly. “Want to travel the world with us while we try to figure out a way to save you?”

Will’s eyes widened, “You mean I can leave this place?”

“Yep,” Hazel grinned. “We can send all of this over to our team to see if they can find anything. In the mean time you can travel around with us. What do you say?”

“I would love that,” Will said, a smile on his face, tears of happiness in his eyes.

Hazel smiled as she pulled out some golden string from her pockets and whispered a spell onto it. the golden string floated over to the stone in Nico’s hand and wrapped around it to make it into a necklace of a sort.

“That string is enchanted to go back to our base if something happens.” she explained, taking the necklace now attached to Will’s stone and put it around Nico’s neck. Nico frowned at her only to receive a mischievous grin.

“And why do I have to wear it?” Nico asked suspiciously.

“Because your connection with ghosts are stronger.” Hazel stated with a shrug and a smile. “Are you okay with that Will?”

“Umm, sure.” Will said, his normally transparently white form flickered pink for a bit. Nico had never seen that before so he just shrugged it off as to him going crazy.

“Welcome to the team, Will.” Nico said with a small smile.

“I look forward to all the adventures we’ll have,” Will answered brightly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> x.x I know I should be working on the soulmate AU for todays prompt...buuuuut I didn't yet so here is this.

Nico frowned as they approached the abandoned school. They weren’t even inside the building yet and he could sense that they were going to be facing a ghoul, not a ghost. His eyes drifted to Will’s ghostly form next to him with worry. While Will had become an invaluable part of their team, helping them connect with earth bound spirits so that they could pass on, he had yet to come across a ghoul before. Ghouls were spirits where their souls had become so broken they become a monster, eating and destroying other souls in the nearby areas and causing death to anyone that enters its domain. Him and his sister had plenty of run-ins with ghouls, knew how to handle them, but Will didn’t. Will was a ghost himself and was in much more danger because of that.

“Will,” Nico said lightly touching the stone Will’s soul was bound to. “Maybe you should sit this one out.”

“She is in so much pain,” Will said, already moving forward.

“Will, a ghoul isn’t a person anymore.” Nico warned following close behind. None of them knew the power of the stone that Will’s soul was bound to, but he wasn’t ready to test it if the ghoul did try to eat Will’s soul. “It isn’t safe for you.”

Will turned to the siblings, “Let me help her.”

“Will,” Hazel said as she stepped forward. “Ghouls can’t be helped. They are past the point of no return.”

Will’s eyes narrowed as he shook his head and looked back to the school, now in front of the entrance. “You’re wrong.” He disappeared into the school without another word.

Nico sighed as he ran into the building following fast as he could to Will, a very difficult task considering Will was a ghost and could just phase through everything. A loud scream echoed and shook the building that could only be one of a ghoul. Parts of the ceiling and floor crumbled away as the building shook more. He put his arm to his nose and mouth in an attempt to keep the dust out of his lungs. Another loud scream followed by the glow of golden light. Will’s stone around his neck glowed and warmed against his chest where it sat.

“We need to find Will,” Nico coughed as he tried to push forward through the dust. He took a step forward, just as the ground beneath him gave way.

“Nico!” Hazel screamed as she tried to rush forward to grab him, but it was too late. He was already falling.

Will’s stone glowed so bright that Nico had to close his eyes as he waited for the pain of the fall to come, nothing happened. Eventually the light died down. It took Nico a couple of blinks to get the spots out of his eyes, but when he could see everything he was shocked. He was outside again with Hazel, the school building a pile of rubble in front of them. The most shocking was Will glowing a golden hue next to the ghoul that was slowly becoming the form of a human ghost.

“It’s okay,” Will said softly to the flickering form that went between a human ghost and a ghoul. “We are only here to help, I promise. Just let go of that hatred and pain.” The sound coming from the ghoul went between screams and crying before settling on crying and a human ghost form instead. Never before had Nico seen a ghoul go back to its original ghost form. Yet was Will, now hugging a teenage girl’s ghost that used to be a ghoul only minutes before.

“Shhh,” Will whispered. “It’s okay. No one is going to hurt you anymore.” He looked to Nico and Hazel with a soft smile, gently coaxing the young woman to do the same. “See, they are here to help you pass on and find peace.”

The female ghost looked at them nervously, “Will it hurt?”

“No,” Hazel said as she stepped forward, her hand outstretched. “All the pain you have suffered over the years will be gone. You will finally be at peace.” The young woman looked to Will who only nodded before she shakily reached out her hand towards Hazel. There was a brief silverly light that surrounded the girl before she disappeared into the afterlife. The gold that Will was glowing slowly faded as did his ghostly form.

“Will!” Nico shouted, his hand instantly going to the stone against his chest.

“Mm, tired.” Will answered before he disappeared completely. Nico could feel his soul returning completely to the stone, still warmer than usual. 

“What was that?” Hazel asked curiously, her eyes focused on Will’s stone dangling from Nico’s neck. “I’ve never seen a ghoul return to their human spirit form. Will had a golden glow to him. Is he okay?”

Nico closed his eyes and focused on Will’s soul inside the stone. It seemed a bit weaker than normal, but still there and still strong. Whatever Will had done, it seemed to have drained him of his energy. He opened his eyes to look back at his sister.

“He is fine,” he answered with a sigh. “But whatever he did it seemed to be quite draining.”

“How did he do that?” Hazel asked even though it was quite obvious that Nico didn’t know either.

Nico shook his head as he thought back to when they first found Will. He thought about how Will said the ghost Octavian couldn’t control his emotions. Normally ghosts like that would become a ghoul, letting the powerful negative emotions take over, yet Octavian was still a ghost. Will must have been doing something back then to keep all those ghosts from turning. Whether Will realized it or not, that was the question. Was that why Will was so certain that they were wrong?

He thought back to all the other missions they had been on with Will over the past couple of months. How easy it was for Will to connect to the other ghosts and calm them, allowing Nico and Hazel to send them to the afterlife without any trouble. There was just this calming presence that Will’s soul brought to others, both dead and alive. He remembered the robbery that they got caught up in at a bank only for Will to calm the robbers down so they put their guns down and just walked away.

“What are you thinking?” Hazel asked.

“That Will is more powerful than we thought,” Nico answered, grip tightening slightly on Will’s stone. “Remember how he stopped those robbers? Or how easy it has been to get all the ghosts we have gone to save to move one? Even how well preserved all those ghosts were when we first found Will? None of them turning into a ghoul despite all of the pain and suffering from that place.”

Hazel’s face hardened, “We can’t let anyone know about this.” Nico nodded in agreement as he started to walk back to the car with his sister. He knew why they had to keep this secret. While it was true that their organization was one to help souls move to the next life, there were still some parts that were looking at ways to make it easier. If Will made it easier, then they might never let him move on. They would selfishly keep his soul bound to the stone even if it was dark magic. They would say it was for the greater good. Nico wouldn’t let that happen. Will deserved to be able to rest in peace, not to be continued to be used.

“We need to make sure our reports match up,” Nico said as he closed the door to the driver’s side. Once Hazel was inside he started up the car, taking them back to the hotel. His hand stayed over Will’s stone as if he was able to protect him with something so simple.

Hazel nodded, “We can just say that you destroyed the ghoul like you have in the past. No one would really look that much into it. The building collapsed in the process.”

“We barely made it out before it did,” Nico said, continuing the story. They were still covered in the dust. “Will tried to help, but went back to his stone for safety when the ghoul tried to devour his soul.”

“Sounds about right,” Hazel agreed, already starting to write her report. “We just need to make sure that Will answers the same if they did even come to ask him.”

“They won’t,” Nico said. “They never have before.”

“Just to be safe,” Hazel frowned. “We should also modify our reports from now on to probably limit the role that Will plays. He doesn’t seem to be on anyones radar yet, but if they keep seeing how much easier he makes it I’m afraid of what might come of that.”

Nico pursed his lips, his hands tightening around the steering wheel and Will’s stone. “I won’t let them hurt or use Will like some kind of tool.” he growled protectively. Even though they had only been with Will for a couple of months, the pure happiness that Will displayed of being free from the place of his torture made Nico happy that they were doing something to help Will. Sure they hadn’t discovered how to release Will’s soul yet, but Will didn’t seem to mind. He would just happily run or float around taking all the new scenery in, ever so thankful to see the world once again even as a ghost. Nico quickly learned that Will’s emotions were directly tied to the stone. It would warm and vibrate when Will was happy or turn cold and heavy when Will was sad or upset.

The rest of the ride back to the hotel as the heaviness of the situation settled in. They would have to be a lot more careful moving forward. Nico wondered if they should even take Will with them anymore, but the thought of Will being locked away somewhere else didn’t quite sit well in his stomach. The pure joy that lit up Will’s face when they traveled was something he didn’t want to take away. Besides, he didn’t know if he wanted to trust anyone else with Will’s soul just knowing how powerful he was. No. It was his job to protect Will and make sure he would be able to eventually find peace.

Once in the their hotel room, Hazel held out her hand. “Give me the necklace real quick.” Nico hesitated for a moment, but then did as his sister asked. If there was anyone he could trust with Will, it was Hazel.

“I’m going to place a protection spell,” Hazel explained, her golden eyes lighting up in time with the golden string. “Only we will be able to touch Will’s stone for now. And I changed the location from our base to our family home in the secret vault.” She handed the necklace back.

Nico sighed as he put the necklace back on, “I hope that it doesn’t come to him having to stay in the vault. I don’t want him to be alone forever.”

Hazel placed a hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry, Nico. We’ll find a way to free Will. It is just a precaution.”

Nico nodded, his fingers gently touching Will’s stone. The unusual warmth that was there before was now gone, the steady pulse back only a little slower than normal which meant Will was ‘sleeping’ or an equal equivalent to it. Will explained that when he didn’t feel like interacting with the world around him, he would be in almost a coma like state. He could hear and see things, but it was like he was underwater. Only when he felt like interacting again would he come out of it. Or if someone summoned him using the stone. Even if the stone was moving he could maintain the state. Nico didn’t know if that was what was happening with Will now. Or if the amount of energy he used forced him into that state. Until Will decided to appear again he would just have to settle for knowing that Will was alright for the time being.

“I’m going to call Frank,” Hazel said with a quick kiss to Nico’s cheek. “See if I can meet up with him tonight since we are somewhat close to base. Don’t wait up for me.”

“Be careful.” Nico said as he sat down at the desk in the room to write up his report. “You sent your report already?”

“Yep,” Hazel grinned. “Don’t wait up for me.”

Nico just rolled his eyes and waved his hand in a shooing manner as Hazel left. He would probably have to pack everything up and check out tomorrow alone if she was going to be spending time with her fiance. Not like he could blame her. She rarely had a chance to spend time with him considering how often they moved around. Maybe eventually she could be his partner so they wouldn’t have to be apart, but that would mean that he would have to suck it up and find himself a new partner. The thought of Will being his partner crossed his mind, but that was impossible. He couldn’t have a ghost as his partner, especially if he was supposed to be keeping Will safe. With a heavy sigh, he started typing up his report to send back to headquarters. Just as he sent it, Will appeared next to him, sitting on the desk. He still looked a bit tired.

“How you feeling?” Nico asked as he leaned back in the chair.

“Hmm, still a bit tired.” Will answered, his eyes downcast. “You know... I heard everything.”

“Thought you said it was like being underwater?”

“It is, but I could make out most of it.” Will said with a sheepish grin. “I don’t want to put you or Hazel in danger. I’m just a ghost, you two still have lives to live.”

“Just because you don’t have a physical body doesn’t make you any less human, Will.” Nico countered with a frown. “You are not a tool to be used.”

“But if I can save those that became ghouls...” Will said, his form flickering a bit. The stone growing a bit cold and heavy. “Then I guess that is my purpose if you can’t set me free.” A small smile graced his lips, “But if I get to travel with you I guess it won’t be so bad. I don’t feel as trapped as I did before.”

“We will find a way to set you free,” Nico said, leaving no room for argument. “I promise you.”

Will smiled softly, “You kind of already have. I am having so much fun traveling with the two of you and helping you with your missions. I’m not alone and trapped. If my soul has to stay bound to the stone this is how I would like to spend my ghost life.” The stone warmed a bit. 

“If they find out what you can do that won’t be how you are treated.”

“I suppose,” Will said with a slight nod. “But I will be helping others.” He closed his eyes for a bit, his form flickering once again. “I don’t remember much before I was taken, but I do remember wanting to be a doctor to help people. It’s a faint memory, but it is there.” He opened his eyes and smiled at Nico. “I think that is why I worked so hard to help save the others. Why I continue to use whatever this that I have to help others.”

Nico’s chest constricted tightly listening to Will’s words. Will once had dreams before all of it was ripped away from him. He had a family and friends that he could no longer remember that mourned him, never knowing what actually happened to him. From what Will had told him, he guessed he was held captive for almost a decade before his soul was taken and put into the stone. The man that had taken him had been taken to prison and died two years ago, but who knew how long his killing spree had lasted. The man was almost seventy by the time the police caught him.

A cool touch to his hand made him look up at Will’s smiling face. “Please don’t feel bad for me. There is nothing you could have done to change anything. All that matters is that you saved me from my prison of torment. I am truly happy right now. Whatever happens, I will cherish this time together.” His ghostly form flickered with a spot of pink adding to its color briefly. “Thank you, Nico.” He placed a cool ghostly kiss to Nico’s cheek before disappearing leaving Nico in a blushing shock. 

One of Nico’s hands went to his cheek where the touch of the lingering kiss was, his other hand automatically to Will’s stone. The stone was a bit warmer to the touch and seemed to be vibrating meaning Will was happy. Still, it didn’t explain why he had kissed his cheek then just disappeared back into his stone. He wanted to ask Will to come back out to explain himself, but he didn’t know exactly how to ask without the stone taking it as an order and forcing Will to appear. So he decided to call it a night and go to bed. They would discuss this in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> x.x down the rabbit hole we go. XD hahaha


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really should be working on Auctober, but I'm not. LOL at least today's prompt is easier, just need to finish writing it. Until then. Enjoy!

It was official. After a year of being with Will, Nico was in love with a ghost. His friends and family would joke constantly that he would fall for one because he didn’t like hanging around people and worked too often with them. Who would have thought that it would eventually come true? After Will had kissed his cheek that one time he was a goner. Despite Will being a ghost bound to a dark magic stone, he was just so full of life. Everything seemed to bring Will so much joy, even things as simple as walking down a street. Will loved to see what different people were wearing, what music they listened to, what hair styles they had, everything. It made the dull world of ghosts Nico had grown up in so much brighter. Will had even convinced him to go do things that he normally wouldn’t do like go to festivals or carnivals in the cities they were in. Hazel seemed thrilled to be doing things other than chasing ghosts, sending them to the next world and then moving to the next town. Her and Will were now the best of friends, dragging Nico everywhere they deemed worthy of fun. Nico knew there was going to be no winning for him now. Hazel and Will were a terribly mischievous and manipulative team. He would never admit it to either of them, but despite all the complaining, he secretly enjoyed doing everything they dragged him to do.

Even better was when Hazel would go visit Frank, it would leave him alone with Will. Kissing a ghost was an interesting experience considering he didn’t even know what kiss a living human was like. Every time they kissed it would quite literally take his breath away, leaving an icy chill in his mouth, almost similar to a breath mint, but much stronger. They would cuddle and watch stupid movies together. For the first time in so long, Nico was glad he had the gifts of his family. He wouldn’t be able to see or even touch Will otherwise. It was so odd that even though Will was a ghost, he felt so solid in his arms. 

“Nico,” Will whispered, currently the little spoon as they watched so terrible horror movie on TV. Nico just hummed, already half asleep so Will took that as a sign to continue. “If they find a way to break my soul free... can I stay with you?”

Nico’s heart constricted in his chest, he didn’t want to think of when it was finally time for Will to move on to the next world. “You know that you can’t stay here, Will. You deserve peace.”

“But I am at peace with you,” Will answered. “Is it really such a bad thing to stay? I feel... I feel almost alive when I am with you. I love you, Nico.”

Nico shot up as he stared down at Will, “Those are dangerous feelings for a ghost, Will. They could keep you stuck here forever if you don’t let them go.”

Will sat up with a frown, “I don’t want to let them go.” He looked away, “If I do then all I have left is pain. I... I can’t go back to that, Nico.” His form flickered momentarily as he wrapped his arms around himself.

Nico took a deep breath as he gently pulled Will into a hug. “I won’t let you go back to that, Will. You are safe. Just know that once we find a way to free your soul that you can’t hold onto any feelings, good or bad. You just have to let go.”

“But I can keep the good feelings until then?” Will asked hopefully.

“Yes”

“Thank you,” Will whispered with a smile, locking their lips together.

“Nico,” Hazel called as she opened the door looking down at some papers in her hands. “I need...” she started then stopped, eyes wide as she looked up, darting between the two of them. Will’s figure flickered, glowing a soft pink as he floated himself across the room. However, those golden eyes stayed locked on Nico.

“Nico, what the fuck?” she asked in disbelief. “I know it is a running joke, but what the actual fuck?”

“Hazel, let me explain.” Nico begged as he jumped off the bed finally getting over his own shock.

“Explain what, brother?” Hazel asked, eyes darting to Will who was hardly able to keep his form anymore. “He is a ghost! You can’t have a relationship with him! It is going to lead you down that path again!”

Nico hesitated at the accusation. He had lost his way when his older sister had died, had turned to dark magic much like the man that held Will captive. All to bring back someone they loved. There were many different ways to bring someone back with dark magic, all required some kind of sacrifice. Even in his darkest of times he didn’t wish to hurt anyone, so he had almost sacrificed himself to save his sister. His sister was better than him. Everyone loved her more. She was the true heir to the family. No one would miss him if he was gone. It was his fault anyways why she had died. If he had just listened and stayed behind his sister would have still been alive.

“I won’t let you fall back into dark magic. I absolutely won’t!” Hazel shouted with tear filled eyes, dragging Nico out of his dark memories that he had almost forgotten. She held out her hand in front of her, “Now give me Will’s stone.”

Nico’s hand instantly went to Will’s stone, it was cold to the touch. A quick glance around the room made him realize that Will was no longer there. He closed his eyes to try to communicate with Will, but nothing. Will’s stone only got colder, like ice. He opened his eyes to see that in fact the once black stone was now covered in a thin layer of ice. Normally he would be able to feel at least something of Will’s feelings if he tried hard enough, but nothing. It was as if the ice was preventing him from reaching Will.

“Nico,” Hazel said, hand still outstretched. “Give me Will’s stone. I think you two need some time away from each other.”

Nico shook his head, “No, I need to talk to him first. I’ve never seen him so upset that he has locked me out like this.” After Will had explained the kiss on the cheek, he was a bit more forthcoming with his emotions. While Nico had been able to check to make sure Will was okay while he stayed in the stone, that was all he could really tell. Now after months of being in a somewhat unique relationship, he could even visit Will inside the stone. Surprisingly, the inside of the stone was just empty darkness for the most part. The only light provided was that from Will’s spiritual glow. Not like he went there often, only to check up on him after a very difficult day of turning ghouls back to human spirits.

Hazel dropped her hand before taking a step closer. “What do you mean? Is he okay?”

Nico removed his hand that blocked Will’s stone from Hazel’s view, her golden eyes widened. Even after a year of their team digging up everything, they still knew very little about the stone. They knew that it was merely a vessel to trap a soul in. That if it wasn’t destroyed the proper way, Will’s soul would be lost. All Nico could hope for was that this ice wouldn’t damage the stone in any way. That Will was safe.

“We should go see Calypso,” Hazel suggested. “She knows more about dark magic than anyone else.”

Nico frowned, “She has yet to be able to figure out how to free Will’s soul. I doubt she could help us with whatever is happening now.”

“Maybe I should apologize?” Hazel asked curiously as she went to touch Will’s stone. The moment she did the ice traveled all the way through the golden string, then snapped the string causing Will’s stone to fall. Nico quickly caught it so it couldn’t shatter on the floor.

“We should go see Calypso,” Nico said already heading out the door, Will’s stone firmly grasped in his hand. He hoped the heat would somehow melt the ice, but it only seemed to get colder. It was like holding an ice cube that just wouldn’t melt. Lucky for them, they were close to where Calypso lived when she wasn’t at the base. A quick car ride to the next town and they were pounding at her door.

“What?!” Calypso answered as she threw open the door. She frowned down at the two siblings, “I’m not working right now so you can leave.”

“Please,” Nico begged as he held out Will’s still frozen stone. “Something is wrong with Will.”

Calypso looked down at Will’s stone with a sigh, “Come in I guess.” She rolled her eyes before turning around going inside the home expecting Nico and Hazel to follow her which they did.

“Sit.” She said, pointing to the right which led to a living room area. “I’ll be with you in a moment. I just need to fetch some things.” She disappeared into what looked like a kitchen without another word. 

Nico looked to Hazel, who just shrugged as she shut the door behind her and trudged into the living room to sit down. Not much left to do, he sat beside her, delicately holding Will’s stone in his hand. The sound of the clock in the room didn’t help to calm his nerves as it seemed like minutes just passed by with no answers as to if Will was alright or not.

Finally, Calypso came back into the room with a tray filled with various items, a tea cup and a pot. She placed it on the coffee table, poured hot water into the cup then held out her hand expectantly towards Nico. When Nico just looked at her, she frowned.

“Give me the soul stone.” Calypso said with an annoyed sigh. Nico didn’t want to, but he didn’t have any other choice if they were going to find out what was wrong. So he hesitantly gave Will’s stone to Calypso who put it in the hot water before adding a couple of random herbs to it. Her dark eyes swirled different colors, matching the water.

“Why didn’t you tell me his body was still alive?” she asked angrily, her caramel hair flowing around her face by an invisible force.

“Alive?” Nico asked bewildered. “He is a ghost. He doesn’t have an alive body anymore.”

Calypso’s eyes flashed red briefly, “A body does not need a soul to be preserved alive.”

“What does that have to do with Will?”

Calypso hovered her hand over the steaming water and muttered something under her breath. All the light from the room disappeared and would have left them in complete darkness if it wasn’t for the glowing around Calypso’s body. She flicked her left wrist to the left and Will appeared, his form flickering like a light about to go out.

“Will!” Nico shouted, standing so abruptly he hit his knee on the table.

“Nico,” Will whispered. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Nico asked. “You have done nothing wrong.” He watched as Will tried to say something, but his form flickered too much to make out the words. He desperately looked to Calypso for advice as to how to help Will.

She narrowed her eyes, “He is being called back to his master. It seems he had a moment where he was vulnerable and that was taken advantage of.”

“The man that put him there is dead,”

“His body yes,” Calypso said with a bored expression as he flicked her wrist yet again, Will disappearing as all the lights came back on.

“Bring him back!” Nico demanded, tears fighting to break free.

“Any longer and his master would have found the location of this soul stone.” 

“Why do you keep saying his master?” Hazel asked curiously.

“The person that ripped Will’s soul out of his living body and placed it in this soul stone would be considered his master. Will is supposed to listen to everything that person says.” Calypso answered as she added more herbs to the cup, eyes focused. “It seems that since this person was new he couldn’t control Will. However, when a dark witch or wizard dies, they become one with the dark spirits. It seems this has given Will’s master the power they need to control Will.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Nico frowned. “That man died two years before we found Will and it has been another year since. Why now?”

Calypso’s eyes looked up to Nico, “Because of you. Love makes you strong, but it also leaves you vulnerable. Especially when it comes to a broken heart.” She waved her hand over the cup making the rainbow like colors swirl. “You see, if you hadn’t given Will hope that he wouldn’t be alone back when you first met him his master would have won then. Then you gave him happiness followed by love.” Her eyes went to Hazel, “At your words Will realized he was being selfish by keeping Nico to himself. Nico is alive, he isn’t. Nico has a life to live and shouldn’t be with a ghost. You made him realize this so to let Nico live, Will sealed himself away, but the damage was already done.”

“I don’t care,” Nico frowned stubbornly. “I love him.”

Calypso’s eyes went back to Nico, “I know. Which is the only reason why he can be saved.” She held her hand out over the cup, Will’s stone appeared in her hand. “You need to go back to where you first met him and find his body before his master does.”

“Why are you just telling us this now?” Nico growled, annoyed that all this information could have helped prevent everything.

“Because you wouldn’t let me examine the soul stone until now,” Calypso shrugged, wrapping Will’s stone in a small cloth with some herbs around it before tying into a neat little bag. “This will help prevent Will’s master from finding the soul stone as well as protect his soul. It will only give you twenty four hours of protection.” She took Nico’s hand and put the little fabric bag there. “I suggest you move quickly.”

“Come on, Hazel.” Nico said, clutching Will’s stone tightly.

“One moment,” Calypso said as she stood, slowly making her way to a large bookshelf. She ran her fingers along the spines until she got to one and pulled it out. She turned around and handed Hazel the book. “I suggest you study this on your trip. You’ll need it in order to undo what has been done.”

Hazel nodded, clutching the book to her chest before joining Nico to leave. Before they could open the door, Will appeared.

“Don’t!” Will shouted. “I can’t let you do this. It is too dangerous.”

“I promised you I was going to save you.” Nico frowned. “I don’t break promises.”

“Nico, please.” Will begged. “Neither of you should risk your lives to save me.” He looked to Hazel, “You’re right. A ghost and a living person can’t have a relationship...” His form flickered a bit as he looked down. “Please, don’t go. He’s become more powerful. He’ll hurt you.”

“When this protection spell wares off, he’s going to hurt you again.” Nico answered, jaw set tightly. “You’ve suffered enough. I’m not going to argue with you on this. We are going to save you.”

Hazel stepped next to her brother with a smile, “Don’t worry, Will. Together we can do this.”

Will looked between the two siblings, “I guess there is no stopping you two. I will do my best to protect you.” With that Will disappeared while Nico and Hazel headed back to where this all started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think. The next chapter will be the last.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I lied. next chapter will be the last chapter with a little epilogue at the end.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“What do you mean I’m not going?” Will asked, his form flickering from anger, annoyance, hurt? Nico couldn’t tell other than he was upset that they weren’t going to take him with them back to the place of his torment. If what Calypso said was true, that his ‘master’ was trying to get him back even after death then that was bad. Who knew what this asshole was going to do to Will now that he supposedly had the power to finally control him?

“It is non-negotiable, Will.” Nico sighed as he sorted through all their stuff in the hotel room with Hazel. “He is after you. So you showing up there is exactly what he wants.”

“The book that Calypso gave me said that dark witches and wizards can cheat death if they offer the soul of someone that they killed.” Hazel explained. “Your the only soul that he has left since the others passed on. Calypso gave you a 24 hour protection spell and I don’t really want to test just how powerful it is. Let us handle this, Will. It is what we do.”

“You don’t understand!” Will shouted. “He isn’t just some ghoul or a vicious angry spirit! He is now one with the darkness. I have seen it.” Nico felt Will’s cool touch to his arm and looked up into his worried and panicked face. “Please, he’s going to kill you both.”

Nico put his hand over Will’s, “We’ll be fine. Once this is over then we can set you free.” He turned to leave unable to look Will in the eyes anymore otherwise his resolve would crumble. “Let’s go Hazel.”

Hazel just nodded as she followed after him, along with Will. She had put a spell on Will’s stone so that no one could move or touch it while they were away meaning Will could only follow them for a certain distance, keeping him out of harms way.

“Please, let me come with you.” Will begged, his form flickering more and more the further away from his stone he got as well as more desperate. “I know his spells and how to counter them. I can help you.”

“We’ll see you later, Will.” Nico said, refusing to look at Will’s face knowing he would only see hurt. He got into the car with Hazel and the drove off. One glance in the rearview mirror as he watched Will’s ghostly form disappear in the distance. It hurt to be away from Will after being together for so long, but this was for his own safety.

Hazel rested her hand on his shoulder, “We had no choice. He’ll understand eventually.”

Nico laughed dryly, “Yeah, eventually.” The rest of the car ride was silent, with Will’s hurt expression fresh in mind. He knew how much Will wanted to help and wanted them to not risk their lives to help him, but this was their job. When they were trained for it growing up, they knew what they signed up for. The closer they got to where they first met Will, the more the darkness seemed to swirl around them, the more concentrated the evil was. 

Nico pulled the car up to the front of the abandoned lone house in the middle of the woods, tendils of of darkness seeped out of the house like hundreds of arms. Without a second thought, he summoned his Stygian iron sword while Hazel readied her golden Spatha. She then let out a low whistle, summoning Arion her magical steed. Only during the most desperate of times did she ever call upon him. This was one of these times. Arion appeared next to her side in a flash of caramel fur, his black mane and tail blowing in the wind. 

“You ready, brother?” Hazel asked as she mounted Arion.

Nico cracked his neck, “As ready as I’ll ever be.” They both took a step forward, the moment they set foot on the property darkness erupted from the house and swirled around them. Before either of them could do anything, they were surrounded by a wall of darkness as far as the eye could see. 

A chilling laugh echoed from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. “Adorable. Trying to keep my slave from me. I guess I can play with you while I wait. It is only a matter of time before that protection spell wares off. Then he will be mine and I will once again walk this earth.”

“Show yourself!” Nico shouted over the growing howl of the wind. “Or are you too afraid?”

A dark blob shot from the source of the darkness then materialized into a tall, skinny human like figure with glowing red eyes and almost blindingly white fangs. “Let’s play then.” the figure said before launching itself at them.

Nico hardly had time to block the slash of dark claws that were upon him. A quick look around and more of these things started to appear, pushing him and his sister further apart. He quickly swung his sword around, easily taking down a few of these shadow creatures, only to have more take their place. He didn’t know how many he had cut down, or for how long he had been doing it, but there seemed to be no end in sight. Hazel’s scream pieced through the madness causing him to look over at her falling off of Arion’s back. Arion looked like he was trying to protect her the best he could, but it wasn’t long before he had to dash away before the creatures pinned him down.

“Hazel!” Nico shouted, slashing and running towards his sister. He was so focused on getting to Hazel that he didn’t notice another batch of the shadow creatures appear behind him. Burning pain ripped through his back as those claws sunk into his skin. He quickly swiped his sword around causing the monster to disappear as he fell to the ground on his back. A hiss escaped his lips as the pain doubled. 

“Shit,” he cursed through his teeth. He closed his eyes and focused on summoning skeletons of fallen warriors to their aid, already feeling his energy waver as they answered his call. When he opened his eyes, hundreds of skeletons were fighting against the shadow creatures. A quick look over his shoulder and he could see a patch to Hazel who laid motionless on the ground. She must have been knocked unconscious from her fall, the sense of death was not around her.

Nico winced as he picked himself back up, staggering a bit from his drained energy before he made his way to Hazel. He took out a few shadow creatures along the way, but for the most part the skeletons were temporarily keeping them at bay. He collapsed to his knees by Hazel and took her in his arms. 

Hazel groaned, her hand flying to her head. “Nico?”

“I got you,” Nico said. 

Hazel opened her eyes and blinked a few times before she looked around. Her golden eyes widened as she sat up completely. “Nico!” she screamed and took his face between her hands. “Are you okay? You need to tell them to leave, you can’t summon this many skeletons for much longer.”

Nico sighed as he shooed her hands away, “I’m fine for now.” That was a lie and she knew it. There was a reason why he didn’t summon a bunch of ghost and skeletons all the time. It was absolutely draining. He would probably sleep for a week after this, but the battle wasn’t done yet.

“You are not!” Hazel frowned. “Tell them to leave now!” Her eyes glowed as she chanted something, the glow traveling to her Spatha. She made one large swipe, knocking down a large chunk of shadow creatures, but also sending any of the skeletons in its path back to where they came from.

Nico shakily got back up, his limbs felt like lead, his back burned in pain. There was no turning back. They had to stand and fight. Just as he was about to send himself back into the middle of everything there was a loud metallic roar from above. Only one creature made that sound, Festus, Leo’s metal dragon. His eyes looked up as part of the surrounding darkness gave way to reveal the large golden dragon emerge. Flames shot from Festus’ mouth creating a flaming wall of safety around them.

“Need some help, hermano?” Leo grinned as Festus landed next to them to unload its passengers. The metal dragon was much larger than Nico remembered especially considering that seven of his friends jumped off its back.

“How? Why?” Nico tried to ask, but couldn’t seem to be able to string words together through his shock. 

“Will called us,” Jason answered with a smile. His stormy blue eyes looked at the shadow creatures slowly forming ranks once again. “Seems he was right that you need some help.”

Nico couldn’t stop the small smile that pulled at this lips. Of course Will would call his friends. They spent the better part of two months trying to figure out ways for Will to use technology without short circuiting it with his ghostly touch. Will probably went a bit overboard calling most of them here, but he wasn’t about to complain.

“Frank!” Hazel shouted in delight as she hugged her now husband. 

“Will filled us in,” Reyna said, eyes watching the enemy gather itself. “Frank, Annabeth, Hazel. Go find Will’s body.” She ordered. The three of them nodded before following Hazel‘s lead. “The rest of us will keep the enemy distracted.”

“Bro!” Percy shouted with a giant grin plastered on his face. He slapped Nico on the back, who hissed in pain. “Oh, sorry.” He apologized when he noticed Nico’s back. “Maybe you should rest. We got this, bro.”

“Let me see,” Piper said already pulling out medical supplies from a bag.

“I’m fine,” Nico growled as he took a few steps away from them. “Where is Will?”

“Calypso is with him,” Leo grinned with a big thumbs up. “Safe and sound where you left him.” He laughed, “Although the hotel’s guests and staff seemed a bit bothered by the sudden drop in temperature. He is pretty mad at you for leaving him behind.”

A booming laugh echoed through the area, “Fools. My slave will be here shortly. Too bad you all be dead before you witness my resurrection. Although your souls will prove to be quite useful in helping me bring back my beloved.”

Nico watched as Jason, Percy and Reyna drew their swords. Piper pulled out an array of daggers and throwing knives while Leo got back on Festus to take to the skies. The protective fire was dwindling, and they could see the mass amounts of shadow creatures that were now surrounding them.

“Leo,” Reyna called. “Check in with the other team, keep them safe.” Leo gave them a salute as Festus turned to the left towards the house. Just as the last of Festus’ flames disappeared, the shadow creatures were attacking once more. Even as exhausted as he was, Nico threw himself back into the battle, much easier now with his friends at his side. Still, no matter how many of the shadow creatures they seemed to defeat, just more and more seemed to appear. Sharp claws sliced his arm, his sword clattering to the ground as he clutched the wound falling to his knees. A more human shaped shadowy figure stepped in front of him, much like a ghost only jet black instead of silvery white.

“You have been quite meddlesome in my plans,” the man said with narrowed glowing red eyes. He took Nico’s jaw in his hand which Nico immediately turned away with a glare.

The man laughed darkly, “All of this is in vain for you.” He smirked. “You fought so hard, and yet my slave is here now. But don’t worry, you’ll be joining him in the darkness. Forever to be tortured by the creatures that live there.”

Nico picked up his sword, ignoring the scream from his muscles and plunged it right through the man before him. He waited for the man to disappear into nothingness. Instead, he heard the man laugh before he was thrown into the air. The wind was knocked from his lungs as he crashed into a tree, collapsing into a heap at its base. Everything hurt. He could barely make out the blurry figure approaching him. 

“Guess you’ll be the first to die.” The man said, a shadowy sword appearing in his hand.

“Not on my watch,” Will’s voice said. The last thing Nico saw was a not so ghostly Will, with blond hair, tan freckled skin and determined blue eyes stand before him, bow and arrow in hand. Then a blinding light before everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;) Let me know what you think. Off to work on AUctober because I have been slacking XD haahahah


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> x.x had to help the dad with stuff this morning so I am a little behind. But hey, this is done and I am about halfway with today's Auctober prompt. XD
> 
> Enjoy

Nico groaned weakly, his eyes blinking a bit readjusting to handling light again. His body ached all over, but the pain was manageable. The soft sound of steady beeping could be heard close by as he stared up at the white tiled ceiling. He tried to sit up, pain shot through his back causing him to wince and hiss. A firm hand rested in the center of his chest.

“Let me help you,” Will’s familiar voice said. 

Nico squinted up at Will while warm hands helped him sit up. He had to be dreaming. Will’s hands weren’t warm. His vision was still a bit blurry, either from the pain of his injuries or because this was a dream, he wasn’t quite sure.

“Here,” Will said, pressing a straw to his parched lips. “Drink this.”

Nico sipped the water through the straw relieving his desert dry mouth, eyes never leaving Will. Slowly, his vision started to clear, but it only made him more confused. The face in front of him was Will’s except it wasn’t just a ghostly outline. Sky blue eyes looked back at him, surrounded by tan freckled cheeks and golden curly blond hair. He knew that was what Will looked like before he was a ghost. Nico had dreamed many times of Will like this instead of his usual ghostly form so it really shouldn’t be all the surprising. Still, something told him that this wasn’t a dream.

Will took the now empty cup away with a smile. “This isn’t a dream.” he said as he sat back in the chair and closed his eyes. Ghost Will popped out of the alive Will’s body with a lopsided smile. “Kind of rushed the rebinding with my body.” he chuckled as ghost Will disappeared back into alive Will. Blue eyes fluttered open with a frown. “You left me no choice. I told you not to underestimate him.”

Nico stared blankly at Will. He had seen ghosts leave a person’s body before. He had seen ghosts take possession of a living person’s body before. In all his years he never would have thought he would witness someone jump in and out of a body that was clearly theirs. A body that should have been nothing but a skeleton after how long it was empty of a soul.

Will sighed as he slowly unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt to reveal the soul stone embedded in his chest right above his heart. “I convinced Calypso to undo Hazel’s spell and take me to you.” he explained. “By the time we got there all of you were fighting a losing battle. I told her to do the quickest way to bind my soul again to my body. Worse case he would have won because I wasn’t strong enough to keep him from destroying my soul and taking possession of my body. Best case, I could defeat him using his own spells against him.” Will’s lips curved into a small smile, and Nico couldn’t help but notice how kissable they looked. Then scolded himself for thinking of such things in this moment.

“How long was I out?” Nico asked figuring it was safe to say that they probably won the battle. He thought back to the last image he saw of Will standing in front of him with a bow and arrow. Of course, he thought he was hallucinating back then with all the pain and fuzzy vision. Now, looking at Will back in his body he was sure that what he saw was true. 

“Two weeks,” Will answered sadly. “You had me so worried. I thought I was too late.” Ghost Will popped out briefly before returning back to his body. “Sorry,” he sniffled, wiping some tears from his eyes. “If I get too emotional I can’t focus on keeping my spirit within my body.” He chuckled half-heartedly. “One of the side effects of not setting my soul back in properly.”

Nico blinked, “Can Calypso fix that?” He really didn’t know why he was asking any of these questions. His brain could hardly process everything he was being told. He should be apologizing to Will for not listening, thanking him even for calling the others to help. Even though he was supposed to save Will, Will ended up saving him.

“She’s working on it,” Will sighed. “She warned me that it might be permanent though and I should be careful as to not let my soul slip out too much or for too long. But I knew the price when I asked her to do this quickly.” He took Nico’s hand between his own. Nico found it odd at how warm the touch was after months of getting used to the coolness of a ghostly touch. Could he even call Will a ghost anymore when he accidently let his soul out of his body?

“Why didn’t you tell us that he preserved you body?” Nico asked. He watched Will’s lips slightly purse, his brows furrow together.

“I didn’t know,” Will admitted. He cast his eyes downward, eyes narrowed in thought. “When my soul was finally ripped out and placed in the stone I only knew darkness for a while. I could hear him calling to me, or saying things, but I was too weak to do anything but remain in the stone.” He removed one of his hands to placed it above the stone in his chest. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

Nico noticed a flicker of ghostly aura around Will before it disappeared when those blue eyes opened again. The amount of effort it must have took Will to keep his emotions in check was truly astonishing. While he didn’t need that much control when he was a ghost, it seemed it took a lot more now.

He gave Will’s hand a squeeze and offered him a small smile. “It’s over now. Even if Calypso doesn’t find a way to fix this, you are alive again and free. Right?”

“Kind of,” Will said. “We were able to beat him. But my soul still remains technically in the stone instead of my actual body. Calypso said that I could live a relatively normal life in this state. Just when this body does eventually die I will still be stuck in the stone.”

“Hey,” Nico said drawing those blue eyes back up to his. “We’ll figure this out.”

Will smiled, “On the other hand, I now have your sister’s blessing to be with you.” He chuckled a bit nervously, “You know... if you still want to...” He blushed. “I’m kind of a mess though so I would totally understand if...” There was a slight flicker of ghostly aura again.

“Shut up and kiss me, Will.” Nico frowned because he couldn’t easily reach Will with his injuries. His right arm was bandaged and in a sling, his back still hurt and he was sure that he might have a broken or bruised rib or two.

Will nodded with a quick ‘okay’ before he carefully leaned forward to slot their lips together. The kiss left Nico breathless, but for all the right reasons. Will’s lips were warm against his, so different from coldness before. Maybe kissing a living person was better than kissing a ghost. Regardless he was kissing Will and that was what truly mattered in the end. Those soft lips stopped, Will’s head dropped then crashed into his chest. He hissed in pain at the sudden weight.

“I’m so sorry!” Ghost Will apologized, flickering a bit before returning to his body and pulling it away, eyes wide. He stood abruptly, “I... I should go. I’m sorry.” Nico could see the ghostly aura flickering around Will as if trying to escape. He placed a small kiss to Nico’s cheek before darting out the door to the small room. 

Nico let out a huff of frustration and disappointment. He knew that Will only left because he needed to keep his emotions in check. It was probably for the better, but Nico already missed the warmth of Will’s lips on his own. He glared sourly at the door when it opened to reveal Hazel instead of Will. While he was happy that his sister seemed to be okay, he still wanted to be with Will more.

Hazel’s lips twitched into a smile of amusement despite the look he was giving her. “Sorry I’m not Will, but he is a bit... overwhelmed right now. What did you do to him?”

“None of your business,” Nico frowned even though he could feel his cheeks heating up. He averted his eyes only to hear his sister chuckle softly as she took the chair previously taken by Will only moments before. 

“We are lucky that Will came when he did,” Hazel said softly, her hand taking his. “I almost lost you.”

Nico looked back to his sister, the held back tears in her golden eyes. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “You didn’t.” He looked down at this hands. “What exactly happened after Will showed up?”

“Well,” Hazel sniffled, pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “I went off with Annabeth and Frank to find Will’s body. When they did the initial sweep of the place after we left they didn’t find it. That meant it had to be hidden somewhere with a protective spell on it. Annabeth was the one that found it, and I undid all the spells except the one that was keeping the body alive. Frank and Leo were holding off those shadow things outside, but the dark mage must have sensed when we found it and sent more.”

She took a breath before she continued, “That was when Calypso showed up with Will. Somehow Will was able to create a barrier of light to keep the monsters away. Then Calypso quickly placed Will’s soul back into his body. He grabbed this ring from a hidden compartment in the room before rushing up the stairs. We all followed after him to see how you guys were doing and that was when I saw you be thrown into that tree.”

She wiped some tears from her eyes, “I could feel you slipping, but before I could do anything Will was already there protecting you. He had summoned a bow and arrow with a brilliant flash of light that followed. All that remained was the soul of the dark mage after that. It was amazing how he fought, like he was trained for it. Effortlessly using the bow as a way to parry the attacks and seamlessly transitioning into firing arrows. I don’t know how long the fight took, but eventually Will won. Whatever he did must have took a lot of energy because he collapsed afterwards. He had a terrible fever for days after due to the strain of the quick link back to his body as well as the amount of energy he used.” 

She smiled up at him, “Clearly he is fine now." That smile instantly turned to a frown. “You on the other hand not only were seriously wounded, but you also drained a lot of your energy summoning those skeletons.” She slapped him on the back of the head earning her a glare. “Idiot. I can’t believe you.”

“I don’t regret anything,” Nico answered. “You had just fallen off of Arion and I wasn’t about to lose you.”

“Well I don’t want to lose you either, dummy.” Hazel said with the roll of her eyes. “We are lucky that things turned out the way they did. And we have Will to thank for that.” She poked his nose, “So don’t you go messing anything up with him. You might not have seen him in action, but I have. Probably a good idea to say on his good side.”

“I intend to,” Nico said softly already feeling his cheeks heat with a blush. “I... I think I love him, Haze.”

Hazel gave him a soft smile, “I know you do. And I am pretty sure he is in love with you. He was overwhelmed earlier because he was so happy.” She smirked, “You kissed didn’t you?”

Nico felt like his face was on fire, “idon’tknowwhatyourtalkingabout.”

Hazel laughed as she placed a kiss to his forehead. “Rest up, brother. Once you are better, the two of you can figure everything out.”

“I plan to,” Nico said with a bright smile.

***

Epilogue:

“You did that on purpose!” Nico shrieked as he wiped the mud from his face and swatting away Will’s offered had. The bastard had the nerve to smile at him innocently. 

“I have no idea what you are talking about, sweetness.” Will said feigning innocence with that beautifully bright smile of his.

Nico glared, “Then why am I covered in mud and you’re not?” He finally managed to get up, but now had the task of finding where his sword disappeared off to. 

“Would you rather be cut in half?” Will asked cheerfully. “Because I prefer you whole.” He skipped around the puddle of mud to the ghost of a boy hovering just on the edge.

“I’m sorry,” the boy said. “I didn’t mean to...”

“It’s okay,” Will smiled, gently pulling the boy’s ghostly figure into a hug. “He is just cranky because we didn’t have time to stop for coffee.”

Nico sent another heated glare to Will even though he knew it would be ineffective. “And whose fault was that?”

“But you’re so beautiful when you sleep.” Will answered as he pretended to swoon. “How could you ever ask me to disturb a sleeping angel?”

Nico blushed hard, averting his eyes while he picked up his sword. “Whatever,” he muttered. All his earlier anger now evaporated as he trudged out of the mud puddle. He crouched down next to Will and the boy before offering his hand.

“Let’s give you some peace,” Nico said with a soft smile. The boy shied away from him, moving so he was behind Will.

Will chuckled, “I know he looks like a rabid monster.” Nico glared at him. “But I promise he won’t hurt you.”

The boy buried his face into Will’s side, “I’m scared.”

Will smiled softly, resting his hand on the boy’s head, “I know, but I promise there is nothing to be scared of.”

“Pinky promise?” the boy asked as he looked up to Will.

“Pinky promise,” Will smiled holding out his hand with the pinky sticking out. The boy smiled as he linked his pinky with Will’s before turning to Nico.

“I’m ready,” the boy said finally taking Nico’s hand. Nico smiled as he whispered the spell to send the boy to the next world. When the boy’s spirt was gone, he stood up with a frown at his mud covered self.

Will took his hand with a bright smile and kissed his dirty cheek, “Come on, Death boy. We should get you cleaned up.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“Yours,” Will grinned already dragging him back to the car. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to kiss all your booboos away.”

Nico rolled his eyes, a small blush on his cheeks. “You’re a dork.”

“Your dork,” Will said as he pulled him in for a kiss.

Nico couldn’t help but smile into the kiss. Even after years of being able to kiss Will, it still made him weak in the knees. They still hadn’t figured out how to unbind his soul from the stone just yet, but they had time. All that mattered was that Will was happy and living his life with Nico until then. Nico had found his perfect partner in more ways than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, another story finished. Off to write some more. Let me know what you think.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeeaaaah, might be another one where I will have to continue it. x.x We will see. I think I am going to pause continuing anything until after October is done. I get too distracted otherwise. And I still need to eventually pick my Pokemon AU back up.
> 
> Let me know what you think! I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
